My dad has recently been having very weak legs, last week he had pain or muscle cramping in his thighs - said it was like shin splint pain??

He does also have bad disks, degeneration in his lumbar spine.
Also semi borderline with blood sugar , but this bout of weakness is more ongoing and not changed by any food or meals.


Does anyone have any insight about this weak legs issue?

This is only an outside idea, but b12 deficiency/pernicious anaemia (they aren't quite the same thing) can cause peripheral neuropathy, and leg pain. It can also cause back pain if it has got to the stage that it is causing neurological damage. The pain is often also accompanied by numbness and tingling/needle like sensations. If this matches up to what your dad is having, ask for testing.

Is your dad able to walk during these weak spells? This sounds like it could be related to something Rick and I both experience periodic episodes of paralysis where we cannot walk. We start out feeling weak legs. We both have gone through various hypotheses and my neurologist thinks I am a nut. It is not run of the mill PD freezing and we suspect it may have something to do with levodopa and metabolism of insulin or potassium.

Not really a solution or answer but more a point of comparison.

Laura

If he can walk during those episodes it is very limited and he has to rest quite awhile after the effort.
He has appt w/ PD doc tomorrow, so I'm curious to find out what she thinks of this.

Jo Mar-
In addition to Laura's thoughts, I will make these suggestions-
1) Read the creatine thread that I have recently began. It has had a greater effect on my own leg weakness than I could have hoped for. It began to be noticeable to me by Day 2. Now at about the one week mark (actually a bit less) the muscles feel as though their strength has doubled and their size is undeniably increasing.
2) How is he on vitamins? Especially B-complex? If he is passing much urine then, he is losing anything water soluble, including minerals. (BTW, if you try him on the creatine then he will start to pee and pee because the kidneys process it. If he should stop with the urine that is bad news and a trip to the nearest ER to head off kidney failure.

Good luck - Rick

So the creatine helped your voice too, that's also something that fades in and out for dad.

Hmm, I might get some for myself to try, if it helps with muscle/nerve issues and maybe high cholesterol...

Has your dad had imaging done of his lumbar spine? If a there's one or more compression fractures of the vertebrae, this may be pushing into the spinal column and pushing on the cord, which is bad. It would explain the pain and the weakness in his legs though, and offer some potential solutions. Get to an orthopaedic physician or surgeon ASAP. Don't wait until he loses function. Good luck!

He had MRI of lumbar last summer & surgery to grind off a calcification protrusion. It was causing a foot numbness sensation so that is gone now.


drats, did more searching and found this about creatine... dad takes both NSAIDS & acid reducer..
[You should also not mix creatine supplements with NSAIDs, diuretics, anti-acid medicines]
http://www.creatinesite.com/

It doesn't seem fair, but it's more than possible that he's got another one on a different vertebrae…or something else going on in his spine.

Might be time for another image, or at least a visit to the ortho.

I was recently surprised to learn that compression fractures can happen without a fall or other dramatic injury. (My mom has one of these types.) Your dad could have one and not even know it.

Then, in the case of my mom, she broke another vertebrae during a fall but didn't mention it. Despite massive bruising she forgot the whole incident.

My mother declined surgery for her broken T11, which is risky at her age and condition. (She would have needed a complete replacement of the vertebrae from the thoracic side, which involves cracking her open, collapsing a lung, and other niceties.) The doc is following her with regular imaging…every 6 months. A lot can change in 6 months apparently, and a change in leg sensation or function is one of the indicators we are supposed to be on the look out for.

Good luck...

LOL , I had to nag mom & dad for about a year to finally get him in for that last MRI... sometimes it is hard to know how much to push on things like this..

I'd like to get them both to a good naturopath and/or acupuncture...
But I should get myself to both of those too LOL.